They came without warning, squawking menacingly, their ruffled feathers darkening the sun. Invading intergalactic chickens, out to punish humanity for our oppression of their earthly brethren. Now they're back, and they're having Earth for dinner!

"Tell me where you eat, what you eat, and at what time you eat, and I will tell you who you are." This is the motto of Anka Muhlstein s erudite and witty book about the ways food and the art of the table feature in Honore de Balzac s "The Human Comedy."